celebrates

Published by The National Herald, September 9, 2005

Cathedral of the Annunciation celebrates its 100 years in Atlanta

In the archive room of the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation, 72-year-old Nick Economy peruses hundreds of old black-and-white photographs, spread over tables and hung on posterboards.

"That's me," he said, as he points out a grinning teen with a cowlick, standing behind a 1940s soda fountain.

At another table, parishion- er and chief archivist Stephen Georgeson flips through an album to a sepia photo of a heavily bearded priest and a family holding an infant dressed in baptismal clothing. "This is our oldest photo --- I think it's from 1910, and it was given to us by parishioner Mary Farmakis. She is still alive and that's her, being baptized."

From the baptism and other sacramental ceremonies, to old restaurant menus, the collection depicts Atlanta's Greek community over a century --- at church, work and play. It will be displayed as part of the Greek Orthodox church's continuing centennial celebration Sept. 17-18.

Collected by Economy and other parishioners over the past three years, the photos capture the church's beginnings in a small room on Whitehall Street downtown, to its growth as the Southeast's largest Greek Orthodox community. That community has included philanthropists like the late Michael C. Carlos and Atlanta restaurant icon Pano Karatassos, and parishioners, now 10,000 strong, who were central to Atlanta's celebration of the 1996 Olympics.

The cathedral campus on Clairmont Road is also the home of the Metropolis of Atlanta and Metropolitan Alexios, the diocesan spiritual leader who administers the eight Greek Orthodox churches in the Southeast. (New Orleans has the oldest Greek Orthodox church in the nation and is part of this Metropolis; it was damaged during Hurricane Katrina).

Economy has been a church member since his family emigrated from the region of Kalamata in Greece in 1937, when he was 5.

By then, his father, who had already arrived in the United States through San Francisco, had served his new country during World War I and gone back to Greece to marry.

When he returned to the United States with his young family, he changed the family name from Ekonomopoluos to Economy.

When the Economys arrived in their adopted country, Atlanta's Greek Orthodox community had already moved three times and was housed in a former synagogue on Pryor Street. Economy's father worked there for years as a sexton, he said.

That church was the home of the Greek Orthodox congregation in metro Atlanta until the current domed sanctuary at 2500 Clairmont Road was built and dedicated in 1969. It holds many memories for Economy.

"We lived on Central Avenue, about two blocks from the church on Pryor," Economy said. "Then, ethnic groups lived around the church, and our neighborhood was primarily Jewish and Greek. Your whole life centered around the church. We walked to church --- didn't have an automobile."

"Like many ethnic groups, we were very tight --- like one big family," said Nini Frangis, also a longtime church member.

Greek businesses sprang up nearby. Family businesses, like Zakas Bakery, the Eagle Cafe on Forsyth Street, the familiar Majestic Diner and the Ship Ahoy, were part of the extended community.

Growing up Greek Orthodox in a Southern city also meant that even as the immigrants were learning how to drawl their y'alls, they were still being schooled in the Greek language. Mandatory Greek school was held during the week, in addition to religious school on Sundays, said Economy.

He remembers the tutelage of Father Panos Constantinides, who served as the church's pastor from 1933 until his death in 1955.

Constantinides drilled the children in Greek language, culture and even Greek mythology, said Economy. Well-loved by his pupils, he commanded a legendary respect that is remembered almost a half-century later by Economy. Greek classes are still taught today at the church, and Economy's grandchildren attend them.

When Savannah native Karatassos moved to Atlanta in 1979 with his family, he got involved in church life, juggling it along with his budding restaurant business. "I was always working," he said. But he remained active in church --- and true to his Greek roots.

Karatassos donated money to build the youth center adjacent to the cathedral. Dedicated in 2002, the center was based on his own memories of growing up in a tightly knit Greek community as a Son of Pericles, the young men's organization affiliated with the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association.

"We had a community center in Savannah, and it always brought everybody together. You get to meet other community kids there; sports always brought everybody together."

It is hoped that those good memories will be fostered in another generation with the new center, as a way to bring Greek Orthodox youth together to become future leaders of the church, he said.

Bill Marianes, a parishioner and second-generation Greek-American, is part of AHEPA, which originated in Atlanta in 1922. The Atlanta attorney's family has been steeped in the AHEPA tradition, which includes youth organizations like the Sons of Pericles and the Maids of Athens.

"The original mission of AHEPA was to help Americanize the Greek immigrants and help them make the transition into American culture go more smoothly," he said. But it was also formed so they "could protect each other.

"The immigrants wanted to be good American citizens," said Marianes. "But in the early 1920s, particularly in the South, there was anti-immigrant sentiment, and the Klan had an active mission against different ethnic groups; the Greeks were one of their targets."

Stores were bombed, and signs were posted in stores and restaurants that said "No Greeks," he said. In the year AHEPA was founded, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese was formed, he said. "We call it the twin pillars of Hellenism; they were integrally tied. Very frequently, the immigrants in a particular city would form an AHEPA, and one of their first charitable efforts would be to form a Greek Orthodox church." Atlanta led the way in this effort.

But with the steeped-in-tradition faith of Greek Orthodoxy, which traces its heritage to the early Christian church, alongside the progressive mission of the organization, "it created an interesting paradox," he said.

"The association was symbolic and critical [as a way] for them to be members of American culture, but at the same time they didn't want to forget their roots and faith and where they came from."

Today AHEPA, open to both Greeks and non-Greeks, promotes the ideals of ancient Greece, which include philanthropy, education, civic responsibility and family and individual excellence in the community.

As the first chapter in the nation, Atlanta is referred to as the Mother Lodge, Marianes said.

For many Georgians, the church is also a familiar landmark; for 30 years, it has hosted a Greek festival, drawing thousands.

During this time, visitors can view the church's sanctuary, which features magnificent examples of Byzantine-style iconography.

This year's event, Oct. 6-9, will revolve around the centennial, said Ginnie Roglin, church administrator.



Volume 7 Number 37 - Tuesday, September 13th, 2005	A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY